Five Marketing Strategies to Help You Reach and Engage with Your Gen Z Audience

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Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

Generation Z, defined by Statistica as those born in 1997 or later, is the largest generation in the US, making up over 90 million of the population. This group is on track to become the most financially influential generation ever. 

Gen Z already has an estimated purchasing power of $44 billion per year, which means now is the time for small businesses to adjust to this group’s behaviors and values in their marketing strategies.

However, it’s important to understand what makes Gen Z-ers unique. As the first generation that was born into this digital age, Gen Z is excellent at shutting out the more traditional, disruptive advertisements that offer them no value or personalized experience.

In general, this group of consumers seem to be much more responsive to:

• Genuine reviews from experts or influencers

• Personalized ads and experiences

• New, interesting, and up-to-date content

• Corporate social responsibility

• Connectedness (both in-person and digitally)

With this in mind, here are some strategies that your small business can utilize to help you reach a Gen Z audience.

Influencer Marketing

According to a report by Morning Consult, nearly 75% of Gen Z-ers follow at least one influencer on social media. An influencer is loosely defined as anyone with a large following that can, obviously, influence the decisions of that following. 

Have you ever seen a YouTube makeup artist do a special unboxing or demo video of a package of product sent to them by a major brand? What about an Instagram post spotlighting a product with the hashtag “#ad” in the caption? These are examples of influencer marketing. 

As a small business, you might think that influencer marketing is way out of your budget; this simply isn’t true. You can identify micro-influencers who have a smaller following of people more related to your industry or product to create ads that are much more organic and appealing to your Gen Z audience, who appreciate more personalized and genuine content anyway.

Personalized Communication

Speaking of personalization, this is something to keep in mind when creating content for Gen Z consumers. According to Mobile Marketer, Gen Z prefers to see online ads and communication based on their browsing history.

This might open up the idea of remarketing through Google Ads or another platform, but remember that this generation has been looking at online ads almost their entire life already and have gotten really good at ignoring them.

To cater to Gen Z’s personalization preference, use it as much as possible in email marketing and other communications. Rather than send a newsletter with a list of new products, send a coupon code for a recently viewed item, or spotlight an item related to one that was already purchased. 

Video Marketing

What do YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok all have in common? They’re not only three of the most popular social media platforms for Gen Z users, they are primarily video-sharing platforms. Video is a great way to not only grab the attention of your Gen Z audience, but also quickly and effectively communicate with them before they move on to the next thing.

Your small business doesn’t need expensive equipment to start creating video content, either. Even a video shot on a smartphone can get your message across—just make sure you have some sort of tripod or stand to hold it in place.

Create videos that explain your product or service, show customer testimonials, or that simply tell a great story. Don’t be shy—get in front of the camera and tell people how your business can help them.

Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash

Social Responsibility

Experts report that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is huge for both Millennials and Gen Z. As Sarah Cavill writes for Digital Media Solutions:

Gen Z, in particular, looks at the world with a side-eye stemming from having grown up amid recessions, fractured politics and often unexpected job transitions for their Gen X parents, leading to decreased trust in businesses.

If you’re looking for more ways to appeal to potential Gen Z customers, consider implementing a CSR program for your small business that aligns with your vision. Choose a cause that you or your staff are passionate about, and find ways to contribute and/or bring awareness to that cause that incorporates your mission, products, customers, and employees. 

Still not sure where to start? Your cause could be as simple as sourcing your materials or supplies from other local or sustainable businesses. What are other changes you can make to your business model that support this cause? Are there any hands-on opportunities to volunteer with your staff? Is there a way to donate a portion of your sales to this cause?

Once you have that sorted out, make sure to communicate this with your customer base in a variety of ways. Make it clear to all potential customers—not just the Gen Z-ers— that by supporting your business, they are also supporting this cause.

Social Media Marketing

Unsurprisingly, out of all the other generations, Gen Z spends the most time on social media—two hours and 55 minutes each day, on average. This makes social media a great way to reach this age group. However, keep in mind that they’re not logging on to social media with the intention to connect with brands, but to connect with friends, peers, or just for entertainment. This means that your small business’ approach on social media should be less purchase-driven and more focused on one or more of the previously mentioned strategies.

If we know anything about Generation Z, it’s that they can see right past the forced, synthetic messaging that comes with traditional marketing tactics. As children of the digital age, they have the ability to ignore so many types of advertising. One thing to keep in mind when marketing to this very influential age group is to be as genuine, personable, and non-disruptive as possible.